Standburn War Memorial

SMR 599 / NS 9267 7472

Location:
Occupying a commanding position by the Avonbridge-Linlithgow Road at the west end of the village on land bought by the people of Standburn.

Unveiled by: Captain Thomas Harvey of Weedingshall on Sunday 19^th November, 1922.

Bibliography

Bailey, G.B.	1994	“Battle Monuments and War Memorials”. Calatria, 6 p.1
Falkirk Local History Society website		War Memorials in Towns and Villages

NEWSPAPERS

• Falkirk Herald, 25 November 1922, 7:
  UNVEILING OF STANDBURN WAR MEMORIAL. The unveiling on Sunday afternoon of the beautiful memorial fountain erected the people of Standburn to the memory of the twenty-eight men of Muiravonside and Bedford Collieries who fell in the Great War, was marked a simple yet deeply impressive service, in which the majority of the residents of the district participated.  In the absence of Major Ralph Glyn, who had been asked to perform the ceremony, the memorial was unveiled by Capt. Thomas Harvey, of Weedingshall, Polmont, and the proceedings were attended, in addition to the ordinary members of the general public, by a large number of ex-servicemen, and the children of Drumbowie School.  They were marshalled in the playground prior to the commencement of the service, and marched to the memorial.
  • Occupying a commanding position on the Avonbridge-Linlithgow Road, the memorial fountain is indeed a fitting tribute to the heroic dead, and constitutes a decided departure from the usual trend of war memorial designs.  Following the general lines of a cenotaph, it is constructed of Creetown silver-grey granite, and is ornamented on the front and rear sides by two finely wrought bronze panels,  The first of these, which faces the roadway, has inscribed on it the names of the fallen, surmounted by the inscription- “In memory of the men employed at Muiravonside and Redford Collieries who fell in the Great War, 1914-1919.”  Below is the fountain spout, which takes the form of a lion’s head, worked in bronze.  The panel of bronze at the rear of the memorial bears upon it a laurel wreath and the words- “To the honoured dead.” Messrs John Scotland and Sons, Airdrie, are responsible for the design, while the work has been carried out by Messrs Robert Douglas and Son, Airdrie and Dumfries.  Although the reverse of ostentatious, the memorial possesses a simple dignity which reflects the utmost credit upon those responsible for its inception and erection.
  • The memorial when the servicecommenced, was surrounded by a crowd of people numbering over a thousand.  A firing party of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, under the command of Sergt.-Major Cunningham, was drawn up round the stone base of the fountain and the soldiers standing with bared heads, and arms reversed.  At the rear of the memorial were assembled the members of the Wallacestone Pipe and Blackbraes Silver Bands, and the choir of Standburn Mission Church…
  • Mr James Henderson, chairman of the Memorial Committee, Mr Isaac Park, secretary of the committee, Messrs Scotland, the architects, and Mr Douglas the sculptor…
  • The names of the fallen which are as follows, were read by Mr Wilson:-
  • Robert Anderson, Matthew Brown, Robert Brown, David Christie, Lewis Clarke, James Davie, Peter Ferguson, James Gardner, William Geddes, James Gardner, Thomas Jamieson, William Johnstone, David Lamond, John Lamond, James Liddel, Charles Main, George Mills, Robert M’Neil, Malcolm M’Phail, David park, Robert Robertson, Joseph Robertson, Alexander Rodger, Dai dodger, Walter Rollo, William Stevenson, James C Stewart, and Thomas Walker.
  • …close upon 200 young men had answered the call, and out of these there were twenty eight who had failed to return… Captain Harvey thereafter unveiled the fountain by drawing aside the Union Jack in which it was draped.  Thereafter a short prayer of dedication was offered up by the Rev. mr Bayne, the gathering meantime reverently standing with heads uncovered and maintaining an impressive silence.  Three volleys were then fired over the memorial by the party of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and thereafter the Lament was played on the bagpipes and the “Last Post” sounded on the bugle.
  • Following the placing of wreaths at the foot of the memorial by relatives of the fallen, and the singing by the gathering of Paraphrae 66, Mr James Henderson, chairman of the memorial Committee, asked the Parish Council of Muiravonside to accept custody of the fountain.  He stated that he was sure the Council would never be out of pocket in connection with the Memorial, as the people f the district would so to it that it was kept in good order.  Mr Robert Bowie, on behalf of the Parish Council, formally accepted custody of the fountain …FH 7 June 1924, 4: No water to the fountain.
• Falkirk Herald, 29 August 1931, 8:
  STANDBURN WAR MEMORIAL.—Standburn War Memorial, which was erected a few years ago, has never been really completed until this week.  The memorial has been enclosed within a handsome railing erected by the Couty Council.  The memorial was erected by the people of Standburn and district, and was subscribed for largely by the workmen in Messrs James Nimmo & CO’s collieries.  The memorial were erecrted in 1922, and it was expected that at an early date thereafter it would be enclosed with a handsome wall and railing.  The collieries closed down, and the industrial distress in the district always prevented this taking place.  Credit is due to the County Council for having taken the initiative  in this matter and completing the Standburn War memorial.
• Falkirk Herald, 26 September 1931, 8:
  A recent inspection of Standburn War Memorial revealed that some parts of the base had broken from the effects the weather, and the Council agreed to accept the offer of £4 10s for the necessary cement work.

G.B. Bailey, 2026